Every human being, regardless of race or culture, is programmed to perceive certain proportions and phenomena in nature as “beautiful” or “aesthetically pleasing”. This is also valid in the perception of profiles, faces and bodily proportions. If something is perceived as “beautiful”, it usually means it is healthy. That is our innate programming to ensure the propagation and refinement of our species. If we look at profiles and faces that are universally perceived as “aesthetically pleasing”, they are automatically perceived to be healthy.
This illustration of a young child is aesthetically very pleasing. Children naturally have smaller jaws than adults. There is an innate understanding of beauty when the human eye perceives profiles, depending on what age and what gender the subject belongs to.
The same “pleasing” profile with a simplified outline of the positions of the upper (maxilla) and lower (mandible) jaws as they relate to the skull.
In this illustration, everything is the same, except the upper jaw has been pushed back a tiny bit. This happens when in some children the maxilla is under-developed.
The effect this has on the profile is enormous. Now the child is not perceived to be as cute or aesthetically pleasing, but rather, unhealthy or anatomically deficient.
This profile of an adult is very proportional and “pleasing”. It is also the profile of a person who has proper jaw development and lip support.
This profile is of an adult with exactly the same landmarks except the lips have been pushed back a tiny bit. This happens when the jaws are in the same position but the teeth have been pushed back due to orthodontics with four bicuspid extractions. It is obvious that our perception of this profile is not as pleasing.
This profile is the same one with the same landmarks, except this time everything including the upper lip are in the same place, but the lower lip and jaw have moved back. This is a case that has had an underdeveloped jaw. The perception we get is also disturbing to our senses, because the correct proportion between the two jaws is off.
